Only one-in-four Americans fit to serve in the military

Most Americans are ineligible to join the military, either because they’re drug users, obese, medically unfit, failed to graduate high school, or have criminal records. The Pentagon estimates that only 25 percent of Americans are qualified.

Military officials claim that they are able to be more
selective, largely because the high youth unemployment rate and the
drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan have prompted more people to
apply.

“There’s a lot more competition,” Sergeant First Class
Israel Herrera told CNN. “There are not many opportunities out
there, but the Army provides employment and stability, and that
makes it an attractive option.”

But for the overwhelming majority of US citizens, joining the
military has become difficult – especially amid continuously rising
obesity rates and high unemployment.

More than 20 percent of high school students drop out before
their graduation, 35 percent of Americans are obese or medically
disqualified, 19 percent are drug or heavy alcohol users, and 5
percent have criminal records. These factors bar Americans from
joining the military, and only one quarter of today’s youth are fit
to join, the Pentagon estimates.

“Before 2009, we would probably be able to give you an
example of a young man or young woman who got in with a simple
possession of marijuana charge,” Herrera said. “They would
not get a waiver these days.”

Six years ago, only 86 percent of new military recruits had a
high school diploma, but today 99 percent of all new recruits have
one. In 2005, the military suffered a shortage of new enlistees,
while in recent years it has always had a surplus.

The trend has caused some to wonder if an improved economy would
lower recruiting standards, since the poor economy has allowed the
military to be selective.

“As we see signs of economic improvement, we must remain
vigilant and continue to monitor impacts on our recruiting
efforts,” Acting Under Secretary of Defense Jessica Wright told
the Senate Armed Forces Committee last month.

But even if the military accepts less qualified Americans, the
Pentagon estimates shed an alarming light on the numbers of people
who are too overweight or uneducated to serve the country even if
they wanted to.

With many Americans ineligible to join the military due to
obesity, some members of Congress are trying to address the
problem. Sens. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)
on Thursday introduced the Fit to Serve Act, which
will provide support for military leaders who want to provide their
base’s sports fields and gyms to youth who need a place to
exercise.

The US military discharges more than 1,200 first-time enlistees
every year due to weight gain, and nearly one in 20 current service
members are clinically overweight, the senators wrote in a press
release.

“Obesity is the single greatest non-criminal hindrance for
our young people seeking to enlist in the armed forces,” Sen.
Murkowski said. “We want our young women and men to seek to
serve their country to have basic information on what healthy
weight means.”